In Focus: Raya light for Arsenal despite bumpy start

David Raya has had a mixed start to his Arsenal career.

The Spanish stopper earned plaudits for his display against Tottenham last month, making a sensational save in a 2-2 draw at the Emirates.

But there was a shakiness about his performance during Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester City last time out — with some suggesting that Aaron Ramsdale remains a more reliable option between the sticks.

We assess what Raya is bringing to Mikel Arteta's team ahead of today's trip to Chelsea.

Risk and reward

The obvious reason for Raya's inclusion in Arsenal's starting XI ahead of Ramsdale is his superior technical ability.

Arteta clearly values a goalkeeper with a strong range of passing and the ability to race off his line to act as a sweeper when required.

Raya provides value for Arsenal in attack, ranking third among Premier League keepers for completed passes into the final third of the pitch per 90 minutes (2.25).

With a passing accuracy of 78.85%, the 28-year-old also has the quality required to start moves from the back — something he did to good effect against City.

Although he was almost caught in possession a couple of times, Arteta will encourage such confidence as he seeks to replicate the Citizens' ability to play out from defence.

Keep the faith

Amid criticism of Raya and nervousness in the stands, Arteta was keen to defend his new No1.

After the win over City, he said: "If they [the fans] have to turn on somebody, then turn on the manager, because he is the one telling him [Raya] to stop the ball and to get the shape and the structure in the right way.

"He dominated his box unbelievably well, he occupied the spaces, he played so high.

"The crowd go like this with the players. I have seen it, the players start to kick balls everywhere and I said to him, 'You don't do that, make sure you don't do it', and he didn't do it.

"At the end, he got rewarded because the team started [to play] the game that we wanted to play much better, so a big compliment to him."

Patience is a virtue

That ability to follow instructions and adapt to a new style of play will be important for Raya.

But his numbers at Brentford last season suggest he is more than capable of replicating Ederson at City, while helping Arsenal become a more dominant force.

Raya ranked first among Premier League keepers in 2022-23 for completed passes into the final third (118), which is more than double Ramsdale's total (43).

He also had more touches of the ball than any other stopper (1,882), compared to Ramsdale's 1,276.

Such small margins might not seem overly significant — but the importance of a ball-playing goalkeeper in Arsenal's system is clear.

When fans get used to his risk-taking tendencies and he settles into his new role, Raya could prove to be a crucial signing for the Gunners.